


Intimidation

by DangerRollins



Category: The Walking Dead (TV)
Genre: Gen, carol is a badass radass hardass, negan wont admit hes shook by her, rick is amused as hell, what the fuck are these tags
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-18
Updated: 2017-12-18
Packaged: 2019-02-16 08:51:24
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,961
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13050642
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DangerRollins/pseuds/DangerRollins
Summary: Carol scares the shit out of Negan.





	Intimidation

Negan wasn't easily intimidated by anything or anyone. This was nothing new, it wasn't because he was powerful, because he had so many people at his disposal, because he'd grown hardened because of the, ya know, apocalypse going on. Wasn't a skill he'd suddenly acquired. He'd always been cool, cunning and confident, and he'd never been easily frightened by anything. Intimidating people was easy as all hell for him, but being intimidated? Really intimidated? That's a feeling he wasn't used to, a feeling he had felt only a handful of times if even that.

It's kind of silly to think about, and he doesn't often let his mind drift to such an odd place, but he hasn't forgotten, and he won't. He remembers quite well, actually, that the first time he'd ever felt truly intimidated by someone was on his last day of first grade. His teacher had been a large man, towering over him and everyone else, both child and adult, and he didn't smile or laugh or even frown. His facial expression remained neutral at all times. He was a boring teacher, one who didn't seem to care much about his job, and he didn't really teach. He handed out worksheets, gave the bare minimum instructions, and then they were on their own. He didn't say more than two sentences per class, give or take a few, and when it was time to go at the end of the day, he was usually the first one out of the room. The guy was just a big lump of absolutely nothing.

Until the very last day.

Negan had been being Negan, bouncing around the room, tormenting other kids as he usually did, when suddenly the door burst open. The teacher had been outside of it, taking a phone call which had lasted longer than it was supposed to.

Finally, he was showing some emotion. Tears streaming down his face, he looked a mess, and quite frankly, weird. Negan was shocked as shit along with everyone else, and everyone was quiet as they waited for him to speak.

"My house burned down. My mother was inside."

He went on to tell them more than what they needed to know, but it was obvious the more Negan thought about it these days, that the guy was lonely, had nobody else to talk to. He told them that his house had caught on fire because he'd left the fire in the fireplace going all night and apparently it'd grown and spread this morning, just a short time before he left out. He hadn't noticed the fire still going as he left the house earlier that morning because he hadn't gone into the den where the fireplace was, and was used to the smell of smoke because his neighbors often burned old furniture right by the side of his house, so he figured that was where the smell was coming from.

His mother was unable to get out in time, being old, frail, and wheelchair bound. The class was silent after what he'd told them, not knowing what to say. Negan hated silence more than anything in the world, but he remembered all the times he'd been a smart mouth about something or another and his mother had told him not to speak on things he didn't know anything about. So, he stuck to speaking on what he knew for a fact.

"Woah..." He'd mumbled, his voice quiet, but somehow sounding incredibly loud in the quiet room. "So, the fire was all your fault...and your mom is dead?" He sounded as if he was trying to confirm it.

He would've said something else, except his teacher had marched up to him quicker than lightning and yanked him up, holding him up under his arms to stare him right in the eyes. The second emotion the guy had shown all year, all in the same day, and it was rage. Negan had never seen that look before but somehow he knew. It was rage.

Nothing happened. The guy stared at him for a few moments, wanting to chuck the little brat out the window and be done with it, but he'd just lost his house and his mother and he wasn't willing to lose his job too, so, he put him back down roughly, the small boy falling onto his butt with an audible 'oomf', and then he stormed out of the room.

Negan had only been scared for a few seconds, but he remembered those few seconds well. Somehow, the incident didn't stop him from saying things that most would regret to more than a few people down the line.

The next time he'd felt truly intimidated had been during his senior year of high school. Prom.

He was a bad boy, cutting classes constantly, keeping his grades pretty steady at all times, managing to maintain a d average in every subject, he was doing the bare minimum to get by despite the fact that he was incredibly smart. He was more concerned with girls than with grades. Going to parties every weekend, sleeping with everything that moved, he had a reputation, that was for sure. A reputation that Janie, a girl too pure for the god damn world, had ignored. She took a chance on him, and he still thanked her for that.

She liked him. Thought he was attractive, noticed how smart he could be, how much potential he had, and she was determined to bring out the best in him. She did.

They 'dated' if you could call it that. He still slept with other people, but he didn't treat them the way he treated her. He cuddled her, he kissed her, he loved her, although it'd taken him years after their failed relationship to admit it. He was still a fucking dick, but a little less so when she was around.

She allowed it. She enjoyed his company and didn't want anything all that serious anyway. She didn't care as long as he stayed clean, and besides, if he was fucking other girls he wasn't pestering her about having sex too often.

They'd been dating since sophomore year, and when senior year came they kind of both knew how it'd end. It'd been a good time together, but Janie had plans for college, and Negan was bound to wind up in jail at any time, so, they ended it. It was a few months before prom when they stopped dating, and they remained somewhat friendly, but there was no more of that mushy gushy shit. Negan wouldn't admit it, but he'd missed it.

When prom rolled around, he had no plans of going. He planned to stay at home and drink and get yelled at by his mother, maybe sneak out to steal some fast food and a pack of cigs later on. Same as usual.

Pounding on his front door put a halt to his plans.

"What are you doing here? You fucking okay? Somebody hurt you?" Negan shot questions out left and right as he saw who was standing in front of him. He was surprised, to say the least. She hadn't come to his house since they'd called things off.

"I'm fine. Put this on." She shoved a tuxedo into his hands as she invited herself in, slamming the door shut behind her. "Hurry up, we don't have all night."

"What—"

"My dad pissed me off before I left, didn't like my dress, thought it was too showy—" and it fucking was, it was too showy, but Negan got to stare so who the fuck was he to complain? "And mom fucked up my hair—" Negan disagreed, he thought it was nice. "And I'm just ready to get this shitshow on the fucking road."

"When did we decide we were going to prom? We're not even together anymore—" The moment he saw her eyes narrow, her muscles tense, her jaw clench, he knew he said the wrong thing. Her skin reddened quickly and she was visibly shaking with anger, he'd never seen her get so upset so quickly and the longer she stayed silent the more nervous he got.

He didn't know what to say. If he apologized, she might scream at him, if he didn't, she might punch him. The look on her face—there it was again. That look of absolute fucking rage—She looked like she wanted to choke him and then put him in a bathtub filled with scalding hot water, and then shove a toaster in there for good damn measure.

The silence went on for a few minutes, Negan squirming uncomfortably under her harsh gaze. "Um—"

"You think you're gonna take my prom away from me, Negan? Is that what you think you're gonna do? You think I'm gonna **let** you take my prom away? Senior year?" Her voice was barely above a whisper, and she sounded completely different. He'd never heard her voice sound so strained, so hate-filled. Every word laced with venom. "We didn't go junior year or sophomore year because you always had an excuse, and I was fine with it because I knew I'd have my chance. This is my chance. This is senior year, the last year, the last time I'll even get to consider going. You promised me we'd go this year and you will not go back on that promise."

"I just assumed that since we broke up—"

"Get the tux on, brush your hair, put on some nice cologne, and get in the fucking car. HURRY UP!"

He scurried away and he did what he was told. It made no difference to him, he could drink at the prom as well as he could at home or on the street, and this way, there wouldn't be a pissed off girl out to get him.

Now, the most recent memory, or should he say memories, of being intimidated had to do with a certain short-haired psycho lady.

"I don't like her." He'd admitted to Rick when they were walking around Alexandria one day. Rick side eyed him, raised a brow and clenched his jaw, a look of annoyance on his face for only a second before he tried to hide it, but Negan had seen. "Who?" Rick questioned, wondering why Negan insisted on talking when they were just finally entering a semi-comfortable silence. He also wondered why the man thought he was a mind reader. They were the only two walking around the area, no women within their sights, so, Rick didn't have the slightest idea of who Negan was referring to.

"The lady with the short gray hair and the scowl."

Rick nodded, knowing exactly who Negan was referring to, and then he furrowed his brows. To his knowledge, Negan had only met her once. She wasn't in Alexandria often, trying her best to keep to herself and stay out of their problems, and it was hard, but Rick could respect that. He made her promise to come around, to show him she was okay, just every once in a while, and she did. She could at least do that.

"Why not?"

"She's...I don't trust her. She just..." How could Negan admit to Rick that his crazy lady friend scared the shit out of his ass without coming across as a punk ass? He wasn't sure. "I bumped into her once." She'd been walking into Alexandria as he was heading out. Neither had been paying attention, apparently, because their shoulders had collided. For a split second, it'd seemed as if she would apologize, just as Negan expected her to, but a look of recognition crossed her face and she didn't. He understood. She knew who he was, knew what he'd done to her people, and she hated him for it, just like anyone else. But she hadn't seen the other things he'd done, wasn't as intimidated as everyone else was, not yet at least, so, she didn't know that she should just apologize and stalk off with her tail tucked between her legs like any obedient dog would. Negan didn't mind teaching her as long as she was willing to learn.

"Watch where you're going, sweetheart, you don't wanna bump into the wrong people too often. Could get yourself hurt." He stepped closer to her slowly, eyes narrowed and a grin on his face. He towered over her, as he did most people, and he expected her to break the eye contact and take a step back as he intruded her space, just as everyone else did. She didn't. She stepped closer, her own eyes narrowing as their chests nearly touched. "My name isn't sweetheart, and I don't like being called that. So, don't." She warned.

She didn't give him time to respond, instead turning her back to him and taking long and determined steps toward wherever the fuck she was going. She meant business, that was for sure. He didn't know what to say. It'd been a while since anyone had spoken to him like that, and he hadn't seen a lick of fear in her eyes, not even for just a second.

"You don't like her because you bumped into her?" Rick questioned flatly. Negan rolled his eyes. "She didn't say sorry." He shrugged. "And it happened again, kind of."

It had happened again.

Negan had been roaming around Alexandria, knocking on random doors and visiting random people, knowing that the Alexandrians usually took to hiding in their houses when he was there, trying to avoid him. Where was the fun in that?

Since Rick had been in his own house, sick and miserable that day with what was probably just a cold, or so Negan hoped, he had nobody to walk around with which meant he was bored which meant he needed to torment people.

He'd spent a good hour holding long and awkward conversations with people he couldn't recall seeing too much, all of them shivering and shaking and stuttering and--The usual. It amused Negan to no end to see them all backing away from him every time he took a half step forward, looking at the ground and fumbling with their hands as they tried to answer his questions carefully, trying not to say anything that could get them or anyone they knew killed.

Finally, he'd arrived at a house somewhat close to Rick's. After banging on the door loudly with Lucille, he waited patiently to see who his next victim would be. To his surprise, the same gray-haired lady he'd met some weeks before had answered. He hadn't seen her around after their little altercation, so, he figured she might've died somehow sometime after she disrespected him, which he wasn't upset about.

"Well, shit!" He exclaimed, excitement written all over his face. She stared at him blankly, not even surprised he was there. "Do you need something?" She quizzed, crossing her arms over her chest.

"What, are you busy?" He laughed. Her face didn't change.

He cleared his throat after a moment, about to say something else, but she started talking. "I'm cooking."

"Oh, well, why didn't you say that? What are we eating?!" He nearly shoved her aside trying to get through the door, and she followed after him quickly, slamming it shut behind her. "I'm cooking for **me**." She corrected. "Casserole."

"I'm sure you can share." He turned around to glare at her. Clearly, he wasn't scaring her by walking around acting like a friendly neighbor, so, he'd just have to show her he meant business. "If you left more over here for the Alexandrians, maybe I could." It was her that stepped closer to him this time, her eyes piercing his. "But you don't. So, I can't."

"I don't know who you think I am--" He didn't know what he wanted to say because there was just something about her that pissed him off and intrigued him all the same. Like with Rick, but without the sexual tension, not that he'd ever admit that to anyone. "Maybe I should introduce myself properly. I'm Negan. This is Lucille. She's met a few of your friends, so, I figured she wouldn't need to meet you up close and personal, but if she does, that is **not** a problem for me." He glowered, holding the bat close to her face. She glanced at it before looking back at him.

Carol cleared her throat before putting a smile on her face, and Negan leaned back, thinking that he'd won, as he always did. He hadn't. She reached behind her back and pulled out a small gun, pointing it directly at him. He was unsure, then, if he'd walk back out of the house. If she was dumb enough to pull a gun on him then she was probably dumb enough to shoot it, and sure, she'd get killed soon after along with many of her friends, but he'd be dead too and that was just no good.

He was frozen on the spot, unsure of what to say. He wouldn't beg for his life and he wouldn't show **too** much of his fear, but **damn** , he really didn't know how to respond to this. None of his men were around, it was just he and the crazy lady with the gray hair, and he could try swinging Lucille but it'd be too fucking late. He didn't want to end up brains out on the floor.

He regretted getting so fucking careless. He shouldn't have been walking around Alexandria all alone, no protection while visiting people who hated his fucking guts. He'd gotten too comfortable, he'd figured that between his constant fear tactics and Rick's constant begging his people not to do anything stupid, he'd be safe. He wasn't.

There were some people that just weren't scared. Some people who didn't fear anything because they'd lost the ability to waste their time on such a useless emotion. Because they'd come to realize that fear was a luxury they couldn't afford. Because fear only made things worse. Those were the people you had to worry about. Those were the people you had to just get rid of, or else they'd cause an awful lot of trouble, and there was just nothing else you could do about it. This lady seemed to be one of those people.

Of all the ways he could die, of all the dangerous and stupid things he'd done, he was gonna get killed by some lady who'd been cooking casserole before he'd shown up? Just like that? He wasn't going out with a bang, he wasn't going out brave and strong, he was just gonna get fucking shot by this woman he didn't even know the name of, just like that?

"I don't live here. I only visit every now and then. For Rick. For my people." She explained after staring him down. His eyes drifted downward, staring at the weapon and watching her trigger finger carefully. "I don't know everything that goes on here, I don't know all the rules you've set up for them." Her finger taps the side of the gun slowly, almost as if she's teasing him, and hell, he knows she is. He knows she sees him staring, waiting. "I do know there isn't supposed to be any guns here. You took their weapons."

He swallows as he watches her finger slowly make it's way toward the trigger. "I don't wanna cause any trouble for them. For my friends. So, here. Take it." Suddenly, she sends him a small smirk. She flips the gun around, pushes it into his hands and aims it right at her heart. She knows he won't kill her. He lets out a breath he didn't know he was holding, and stares at her, confused. He didn't know what to say or what to do. He just wanted to run outside and get the fuck away from her, but that would make him look bad and he couldn't have that.

"I'd like to get back to my cooking now." And she pushes past him, her back facing him. He's holding a fully loaded gun and a baseball bat with barbed wire sticking out of it, and she turns her back to him. She goes back to cooking, acts as if he isn't there, and expects for him to let himself out.

He does.

"So, you bumped into her twice and now all of a sudden you hate her?" Rick sounds overly amused and unamused at the same time and Negan hates it. He doesn't tell Rick exactly what had gone on during their first two little meetings, so, he doesn't get it, he doesn't understand, but Negan disliking the woman is completely justifiable.

"She was gonna kill me, Rick." Negan growled. "When I went to the Kingdom. The one fucking time I went to the Kingdom."

And Negan did explain this one to Rick because it didn't make him look all that bad, he guessed.

Negan didn't often bother with visiting the other communities. He only really came to Alexandria to see Rick, the interesting little asshole who'd been a thorn in his ballsack since the very beginning. However, on a particularly boring day, he'd decided to go with some of his people to the Kingdom for pickup.

He'd spent some time intimidating that asshole who called himself a king, and when he was bored with that, he decided to explore the woods surrounding their meetup spot. Truthfully, he had to piss after the long ride and he wanted to get away from the saviors for a while. He wasn't as much of a people person as some would think--He needed his alone time. Silence wasn't his best friend, he didn't enjoy it often, but every now and then he needed it.

After he pissed, he roamed around aimlessly, somewhat enjoying the peace and quiet, the only sounds heard being the trees rustling and the leaves and grass crunching under his feet. And then there was something else.

"Why are you out here?"

He turned around only to see the lady standing there, eyes narrowed as she studied him. He remembered their last meeting and narrowed his own eyes. He wanted to get back to the truck and head the hell home. Something about her made him beyond uncomfortable. It couldn't just be the cold stare, Rick's stare was colder than her's and it never scared him off. Couldn't just be the fact that she'd pulled a gun on him last time, shit, tons of people had done that.

Maybe it's just that she knew what he'd done to her friends and she still didn't look at him the same way the others did. With disgust, with hatred, with fear. She hated him, yeah, but for some reason, it just wasn't the same.

Maybe it's the fact that he can't seem to read her like he can everyone else. He doesn't know what she's thinking, doesn't know what she's capable of, doesn't know what she'll do and what she won't.

Doesn't know what she's willing to risk and what she's not.

Maybe it's the fact that he just can't seem to scare her. He doesn't wanna kill her, doesn't have a good enough reason to in his mind, and honestly, he doesn't wanna cause her any harm. He just wants her to be the same as everyone else, to know her place, to respect him.

Maybe it's just that she doesn't respect him.

Rick and all the other Alexandrians hate him, they want him gone. They fear him, hate when he's around, and some of them are ballsy and they fucking do things that land them in a shit ton of trouble. They wanna kill him. But they respect him.

Rick respects him, even if he hates to admit it.

That wannabe king, he does too.

The widow—She acts like she respects him if she doesn't.

This lady is an entirely different story.

"I had to piss." He shrugged. "Why are you out here?"

"My house is around here." She nodded in the direction that her house was in and it made him swallow thickly and shift his position. Why would she tell him that? Why wouldn't she lie? Why doesn't she care if he knows where she lives? This is the thing that proves to him just what he already knows. She isn't afraid of him. If she isn't afraid of him then she's more than willing to do something utterly fucking stupid that will end badly for both of them. It makes him uncomfortable and once again he doesn't know how to respond.

"You never told me your name." He grumbled out. What the hell else would he say? She didn't respond, only stared at him blankly, clearly unwilling to partake in any small talk. He huffs, wanting to walk up to her and beat her brains out with Lucille, but he doesn't, he keeps his distance.

"Me and you, we've gotta get acquainted and we've got to come to an understanding. I've been patient with you sweetheart, I really have, Ive been a lot more patient with you than I've been with a lot of people, but that shit is gonna stop quick, fast, and in a god damn hurry because I'm **tired** of this shit." He growls. "I'm not gonna lie, I really hate to kill you, I especially hate the look I'll get from your friend Rick after he finds out that I did. The teary eyes that hold a whole shit ton of anger and disgust for me, the heartbroken fucking look covered up by a pile of rage. But I will. I'll do it, sweetheart. " He feels like he's begging her to understand at this point, and he doesn't know why the fuck he's doing it, but he hates it, that's what he knows. "You need to realize who the hell I am. I'm not some harmless motherfucker who's all talk and no god damn walk—You know that, you have to. No, I'm the guy who bashed your friends' skulls in, I'm the guy taking shit from your community and everyone fucking else's, I'm the guy you answer to. I own your ass and it's time you fucking realize that. We can either—"

And it takes her half a second to pull a gun on him. Again.

Why hadn't he expected it? Why hadn't he stopped to think for a moment? If she'd pull a gun on him at the risk of his men walking into her house at Alexandria and killing her, she'd sure as hell do it out in the woods when no one is around. She was brave, she had nothing to lose, seemingly, why wouldn't she?

Once again he was helpless, nothing he could do. His bat couldn't protect him right now, he was too far away to swing and if he took one step forward he had no doubt in his mind that she'd blow his brains out.

He wasn't even sure why she was pointing that damn gun at him. Could it be the bragging over the fact that he'd killed her friends? That he was taking from her community? Or was it something stupid. Was this woman holding him at gunpoint because he just talked too fucking much and she was sick of hearing him? Was it because he'd called her sweetheart—Twice!—After she told him not to? He couldn't be sure and he wasn't about to ask.

She closed her right eye and he watched as her finger found the trigger. She didn't hesitate in squeezing it, and he squeezed his eye shut as he heard the loud boom. After a few seconds, he reopened his eyes. He was unharmed.

He didn't think she was a bad shot, she seemed too experienced. Even if she did suck at shooting, surely she would've shot at him more than once if she missed the first time. He studied her for a moment before slowly turning his head to look behind him. On the ground was a walker, lying dangerously close to where he was. He hadn't even noticed it approaching, having been too caught up in his rambling to notice anything.

He turned back to her and noticed she was staring right back at him, facial expression blank, as usual. "Watch your back." She warned, her voice low. "You never know what could happen when you let your guard down." It's like she's staring into his soul and he cant take it. He breaks their eye contact and looks behind him again before quickly turning back to her, remembering what she'd just said. She was already walking off in the direction she said her house was in. "Be safe out here, Negan. Hate to see something happen to you."

"Sounds to me like she saved you from a walker." Rick chuckled. Clearly, the story had brightened his mood, and Negan rolled his eyes as he stopped walking. "Sounds to me like you're scared of the lady who saved your life."

"She didn't save my life and I'm not scared of her!" He spat. "I don't like her...What's her name."

Rick grins and lets out a hearty laugh, staring right past Negan's shoulder. "Ask her yourself."

Negan turns around quickly, and sure enough, there she is, storming up to them holding onto a large gun. Negan turns for a split second to yell at Rick for not keeping an eye on her and making sure she checks her weapons at the fucking door, but Rick is already speed walking off.

He turns to face her again, and he silently prays that she walks past him.

She doesn't.

**Author's Note:**

> I honestly don't know what this is, why I wrote it or if I like it. I just fucking love Carol like hell and she's the most badass character ever and I haven't written for her yet and I desperately wanted to so 


End file.
